Routine blood samples, such as those taken daily at any hospital and tracked over time, could help predict the severity of an injury and even provide insights into mortality after spinal cord damage, according to a recent University of Waterloo study.    The research team utilized advanced analytics and machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence, to assess whether routine blood tests could serve as early warning signs for spinal cord injury patient outcomes.    More than 20 million people worldwide were affected by spinal cord injury in 2019, with 930,000 new cases ...

Insulation materials are critical for energy-efficient buildings, but conventional petroleum-derived foams often suffer from flammability, environmental concerns, and limited recyclability. Addressing this challenge, a new study in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts demonstrates how nanocellulose, the world’s most abundant biopolymer, can be engineered into advanced aerogels that combine thermal insulation, flame retardancy, and mechanical robustness. The research team designed bio-based aerogels by employing directional freeze-drying, followed by chemical crosslinking to strengthen the nanocellulose network. The resulting ...

Researchers have developed an innovative way to turn steel industry waste into a low-cost material that can clean antibiotics out of water, offering a promising solution to one of today’s growing environmental challenges. Steel mills generate large volumes of iron-rich sludge during wastewater treatment. Traditionally, this sludge has been disposed of through landfilling or incineration, raising concerns about waste management and heavy metal contamination. Now, a team led by scientists from Changsha University of Science and Technology has found a way to convert this industrial byproduct into a valuable resource: a special form of biochar ...

A new review study has revealed that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), widely known as “forever chemicals,” are increasingly entering farmland soils through waste recycling and wastewater reuse. Once in the soil, PFAS can migrate into crops, raising urgent concerns for food safety and human health. PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals first developed in the 1940s. They have been extensively used in non-stick cookware, food packaging, textiles, firefighting foams, and cosmetics. Thanks to their strong carbon–fluorine bonds, PFAS are extremely resistant to degradation, persisting in the environment and in living organisms for decades. Mounting evidence has linked ...

The approval of new antibody medications for Alzheimer's disease – lecanemab and donanemab – and diagnostic tests in the blood mark the beginning of a new era in Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and treatment. However, without rapid reform in healthcare systems, public policy, and societal attitudes, their potential will not be fully realised, argue 40 leading Alzheimer's disease experts in The Lancet Series on Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease accounts for about 70% of all ...

Six out of 10 music fans say they have been sexually harassed or assaulted at a live gig in the US, suggest the results of a survey, published online in the journal Injury Prevention. Women are more than twice as likely as men to have been affected, the responses indicate, but various barriers prevented most respondents from reporting the incident at the time. Data from Australia, the UK, Sweden, Finland and Nigeria indicate that inappropriate sexual behaviour is prevalent at live music events. But few studies have focused on the USA or included a broad range of venues, such as festivals and large arenas, theatres, and clubs, note the researchers.  To explore this further, ...

Key Points This effort leverages historical industrial partnerships between ORNL and NVIDIA, EPB and IonQ, which represent a combined 30-plus years of cutting-edge R&D in both the quantum and classical computing spaces. ORNL’s computing strategy emphasizes hybrid high-performance computing and includes a future of CPUs, GPUs, QPUs and other technologies to solve different aspects of challenging computer problems. Hybrid computing has the potential to solve some of the most pressing challenges facing American industries, and ORNL is excited to bring its ...

Original Research Pre-Visit Questionnaire With EHR Integration Improves Family History Documentation and Supports Prevention and Referrals in Primary Care  Background and Goal: This study evaluated whether a pre-visit, patient-completed family history questionnaire that automatically uploads to the electronic health record (EHR) and triggers a same-day notification for family physicians improves family history documentation and subsequent conversations. Study Approach: Researchers ran a six-month, matched hybrid effectiveness–implementation study in three primary care practices affiliated with the University of Toronto Practice-based Research ...

Original Research Study Identifies Functions to Expect From Interdisciplinary Care Teams Delivering Whole Person Substance Use Disorder Care for Pregnant People  Background and Goal: This study set out to identify the professionals, roles, and core functions of interdisciplinary teams that serve pregnant people with substance use disorders and describe how those functions are organized across different settings.  Study Approach: Researchers conducted a qualitative observational study in Oregon at seven organizations that implemented Project Nurture and Nurture Oregon, integrated team-based care models that bring ...

Original Research “Light-Touch” EHR Referral Strategy Connects Patients With Prediabetes to Community-Based Diabetes Prevention Programs Background and Goal: This study tested whether a referral order inside the Epic electronic health record (EHR) could help primary care clinicians refer patients to community-based diabetes prevention programs (DPPs), an important public health strategy to reduce incident type 2 diabetes, and whether patients enrolled  after referral. Study Approach: ...

Original Research 16-Year Study Indicates Rising Patient Complexity and Fewer Patients Seen Per Day in Alberta Primary Care Background and goal: In this study, researchers examined changes over time in characteristics of adults cared for by family physicians from 2004 to 2020 in Alberta, Canada, along with trends in family physicians and their practice patterns for adults over 18 years old.  Study approach: Using linked administrative health data, including physician billing claims and hospital/ambulatory data, the researchers created annual, population-based snapshots from 2004 to 2020 of adults seeing family physicians providing comprehensive care. They tracked ...

Original Research Practice-Level Metric Provides “Big-Picture” Look That May Reduce Unnecessary  Antibiotic Use in Arkansas Medicaid PCMHs  Background and Goal: In this study, researchers developed, implemented and measured a claims-based, practice-level performance measure to calculate, track and influence antibiotic prescribing variation across Arkansas Medicaid’s patient-centered medical home (PCMH) program.  Study Approach: This retrospective, observational study used 2019–2021 outpatient antibiotic paid claims, attributing each claim ...

Research Brief More Low-Income Adults Reported Having a Usual Source of Care After the Affordable Care Act Background and Goal: Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), uninsured and low-income adults were less likely to have a usual source of care due to cost, coverage, and access barriers. This study evaluated changes in the prevalence of usual sources of care and the reasons for lacking one before and after ACA implementation.   Study Approach: Researchers analyzed 2010 to 2017 data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Household ...

Original Research  Combining Medicare Wellness Visits With Problem-Based Visits Reduces No-Show Rates and Closes Screening Gaps  Background and Goal: A recurrent barrier to Medicare annual wellness visits, which provide preventative medicine guidance for older and disabled patients, occurs when patients introduce medical concerns to physicians during these preventative visits. In this study, researchers scheduled combined visits in a single, longer slot with patients’ regularly seen clinicians and used allowed billing rules so both visits could count to see if they could increase the percentage of ...

Methodology Current Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Differences of Sex Development Measures in Federal Health Surveys Background and Goal: Federal health surveys are a key source for understanding health needs in the U.S., including the needs of people in LGBTQ+ community. This methodology paper characterized the current landscape of measures capturing sexual orientation, gender identity, and differences of sex development in federal health surveys, detailing when and how the information was collected. Approach: ...

Innovations in Primary Care   Penn State Health’s Patient-Centered Quality Metric Reframing Project May Serve as a Model for Presenting Future Quality Metrics  Quality metrics aim to improve patient outcomes by setting evidence-based targets, but many are neither patient centered nor physician centered. A team at Penn State Health’s Department of Family and Community Medicine ran a project across 13 ambulatory clinics to make quality data more meaningful by presenting patient-oriented outcomes in plain, natural language. Using 24 months of electronic health record data, they ...

Original Research Adding Pharmacy Technicians to Primary Care Teams Helps Manage Medication Access  Background and Goal: This study examined whether adding pharmacy technicians to primary care teams relieved clinicians and nurses of medication-access tasks and improved perceptions of burden, quality of care and patient access. Study Approach: Researchers conducted a retrospective, mixed-methods study one year after deploying five primary care pharmacy technicians across 11 clinics in a large urban safety-net network. They analyzed electronic ...

Original Research High Educational Debt and Long Work Hours Are Associated With Burnout Symptoms in Early-Career Family Physicians Background and Goal: This study examined whether higher educational debt among physicians is associated with more hours worked per week and whether both are independently associated with burnout symptoms among early-career family physicians. Study Approach: Researchers linked the American Board of Family Medicine Initial Certification Questionnaire (2017 to 2020) to its National Graduate Survey ...

Special Report CHART Guideline Provides 12 Key Reporting Items for AI Chatbot Health Advice Studies Background and Goal: In response to the growing need for reporting standards for evaluating artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot health advice studies for clinical purposes, researchers created the Chatbot Assessment Reporting Tool (CHART) so stakeholders can interpret results with confidence. Key Insights: CHART was developed through a systematic review; a Delphi consensus process (a series of anonymous expert surveys to build agreement) with 531 international stakeholders; and three consensus meetings with a 48-member expert panel. The CHART statement ...

Scientists, nurses, and researchers in George Mason University’s College of Public Health (CPH) have successfully progressed to the third phase of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) program studying a broad range of early life exposures on child health.  The NIH grant provides more than $157 million in awards for Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO), and George Mason will receive $1.35 million annually until 2030 to conduct the study.  George Mason is one of 45 research sites across the country gathering longitudinal data on more than 30,000 children; 1,059 of those children are enrolled in George Mason’s ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As the frequency and intensity of heatwaves increase across the U.S., a similar but more striking phenomenon is occurring in American rivers. Analysis of data from nearly 1,500 sites in the contiguous United States between 1980 and 2022 revealed that heatwaves in rivers are accelerating faster than and lasting nearly twice as long air heatwaves, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State.   “Rivers are often thought of as safe and cool havens protected from extreme temperatures,” said Li ...

STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL 8PM UK TIME (3PM EASTERN TIME) ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22   Hidden in plain sight, dried fish are an overlooked yet vital nutrient-packed superfood helping to feed millions of people across Africa, a new study reveals. And new evidence quantifies for the first time the essential nutrients in sun-dried and smoked fish in Africa, suggesting they could play an important role in tackling malnutrition across the tropics – provided the right policies are in place, researchers argue. Dried fish are an affordable and readily available food across the tropics. Yet despite this prevalence, because they are often ...

Tune into American politics today, and you'll hear something far more sinister than simple disagreement. The language has escalated: political parties trash talk each other—blaming rival parties for policy failures or even for causing incidents with national implications. And reducing polarization and "partisan animosity"—the distrust and hatred of the other party—is remarkably difficult, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences evaluating past attempts. The research was led by the Polarization ...

To the point: Conifers use resin to protect themselves against pests. This resin contains diterpenes, which are defensive substances.  Some of these diterpenes originated over 300 million years ago, before conifers evolved. Other diterpenes developed independently in different conifer species much later, presumably to protect against bark beetles. This repeated evolution was only possible because enzymes that produce diterpenes had previously undergone changes that unlocked evolutionary pathways towards certain substances. This is based on a mechanism called “epistasis”, which allows new traits to evolve once preparatory ...

Endocannabinoids are similar to the cannabinoids present in cannabis, but they are found naturally in the body. Endocannabinoids—and cannabinoids—work through a signaling system that supports neurodevelopment, but whether manipulating this system prenatally has long-lasting effects remains unclear. In a new JNeurosci paper, researchers led by Ismael Galve-Roperh, from the Complutense University of Madrid, used mice to explore this unknown.  The researchers decreased expression of an endocannabinoid receptor in the prefrontal cortex of prenatal mice and assessed the impact of this manipulation on gene expression, ...